Incident details
- Date of incident
- May 26, 2026
- Location
- Newark, New Jersey
- Targets
- Wali Khan (Independent)
- Assailant
- Law enforcement
- Was the journalist targeted?
- No
Assault
Independent reporter and photojournalist Wali Khan was struck in the leg with a baton by a federal officer while covering protests outside an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on May 26, 2026.
Protests outside the Delaney Hall federal detention facility began May 22, when many detainees went on a hunger strike. Federal officers responded to the protests with chemical irritants, physical force and arrests.
Members of Congress, state and local lawmakers and rights groups have alleged dire conditions at the facility. The Department of Homeland Security has denied allegations of detainee mistreatment.
Khan told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were wielding their batons at protesters to drive them back.
In footage Khan captured that night, an ICE officer is seen repeatedly striking at the lower legs of protesters.
“I got hit in the leg — in the back of my knee — when they were swinging erratically,” he said.
Khan told the Tracker that while he doesn’t believe he was targeted at that moment, federal officers also deliberately pepper-sprayed and threatened him with a Taser.
“They were fucking out of control that day,” he said.
In a statement emailed to the Tracker on June 1, DHS said anyone who obstructs law enforcement or disrupts its operations would be prosecuted. It did not address its use of force against members of the press.
“We remind members of the media to exercise caution as they cover these violent riots and remind journalists that covering unlawful activities in the field does come with risks,” the statement read. “Our officers take every reasonable precaution to mitigate those dangers to those exercising protected First Amendment rights.”
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogs press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].
